Create a Full and Meaningful Life: A brief introduction to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, suggests that a full and meaningful life involves opening yourself up to the vastness and complexity of the human experience while engaging in what truly matters to you. ACT promotes holding space for your experiences, dropping the struggle, and directing your time and energy toward what is truly meaningful to you.
ACT is a third-wave behavior therapy and an evolved version of second-wave behavior therapies, such as Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT). In graduate school, I was originally trained in CBT, and while some find this therapy valuable and helpful, I always felt like something was missing from my work with clients. When I discovered ACT, I was drawn to the acceptance, mindfulness, and values components of this therapy approach. ACT can also foster a more validating, affirming, and empowering space which can create an environment for deeper healing and growth.
Be Present
Present-moment awareness is an integral part of ACT. Our minds tend to time travel to the past and future, and we can have difficulty being in the present moment. For example, the mind of someone struggling with depression tends to be more past-oriented, whereas the mind of someone struggling with anxiety tends to be more future-oriented. ACT aims to help you develop strategies to more intentionally direct your awareness so that you can more mindfully attend to what is happening in the present moment. Furthermore, ACT promotes connecting with the part of your mind that can observe your experience as it unfolds from moment to moment. With these strategies, you can better engage in what is most helpful and meaningful to you.
Open Up
Additional ACT strategies support taking a step back from your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors and observing these processes without getting caught up in them. ACT allows you to create space for your experiences and to work toward taking a more open, non-judgmental, and curious stance.
Some therapies assume distorted thinking and focus on changing thoughts. While this can be helpful, it can feel invalidating in some situations, like grief or loss. Additionally, this can drain you and further your struggle. The more time and energy you put toward combating your mind, the less you engage with what is truly meaningful to you. ACT does not primarily focus on changing your thinking, as this can lead to a tug-of-war with your mind. ACT directs you to change your relationship with your thinking. In other words, dropping the rope of tug-of-war frees up time and energy to put toward what truly matters to you.
Do What Matters
Clarifying your values and living congruently with your values are the final integral parts of ACT. You can think of your values as a compass that guides you through life. To clarify your values, you can ask yourself, ‘If I were no longer struggling, what would I be doing differently,’ ‘What do I want my life to look like,’ and ‘What truly matters to me?’ From there, you can identify and engage in actions that are congruent with your values. By engaging in even the smallest values-congruent action, you have started moving in the direction of living a more full and meaningful life.
For Further Reflection: What does a full and meaningful life look like for you?
